Art Education

Art Education

Original art lines the wall of the office of UW-Stout associate
art professor Sheri Klein--works by "great masters," including the children of Menomonie.

The Saturday children's art program run by UW-Stout's art and design department
is a program they are proud of. "It has a dual purpose," Klein said, "to enrich
the children and to give practical teaching experience to Stout's art education
students. It has worked out very well."

Klein noted also that UW-Stout has the only National Art Education Association student
chapter in the state, which was recently recognized by the Stout Student Association.
UW-Stout's NAEA chapter is active both on campus and in the community with service,
volunteer work and fund raising projects.

UW-Stout's art education program is one of the largest undergraduate art education
programs in the UW System, with about 90 students.

"School districts from all over the state come to recruit art teachers from our
department," Klein pointed out. Most recently the La Crosse school district hired
several UW-Stout graduates.

Klein said that 85 to 90 percent of UW-Stout art education graduates are placed
in K-12 teaching positions. Others may go into other art-related fields or pursue
graduate study. "The feedback I've gotten from schools is that they are impressed
that our graduates come to the classroom so well prepared."

Klein, who received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago
and is receiving her doctorate in art education this spring from the University
of Indiana, has been at UW-Stout three years and is impressed with the art education
program.

"I think our program is unique," she said. Klein said that as sophomores, students
begin putting together "teaching portfolios" which include art work, lesson plans
and resumes. "It helps their professional development as well as helps them find
jobs," Klein said.

"In their development here at Stout, we try hard to educate them for leadership
and responsibility. We want students who are thinking ahead to what may be needed
in the art education field in the future," she said."These are the art teachers
of the next century. We are building for the future."

"At Stout, art education students learn to be artists and teachers," Klein said.
"They come out of our program well prepared to create art, discuss art and write
about art, as well as teach art and advocate art.

"As they prepare to teach art to young people, it is important that their experiences
are broad and that they recognize the responsibility of reaching out to a larger
community."